SUGARCREEK, Ohio — The Ohio Heartland Sheep Improvement Assoc. (OHSIA) will host its fall workshop ”Improve Your Sheep Flock with Farmer-Friendly Artificial Insemination” Nov. 13 at the farm of Noah and Mary Yoder, located at 2999 County Road 70 in Sugarcreek.

The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. and conclude at 8:30, and will share results of the first year North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Grant on artificial insemination in sheep. Topics will include ewe and ram management, methods used in the project and what worked and what didn’t work, results from the first year of the project and a question-and-answer period. Presenters will be Dr. Dale Duerr and Dr. Craig Zimmerly.

Duerr is a retired veterinarian from Bolivar, where he had a mixed veterinary practice. He also maintains a flock of 60 sheep. He has an interest in biosecurity in methods of improving sheep genetics using A.I. and training farm team members in all aspects of ram management and care, breeding soundness exams, collection and handling of semen and A.I. techniques. He is a member of the American Assoc. of Small Ruminant Practitioners (AASRP).

Zimmerly, of Apple Creek, is a graduate of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine and a member of the AASRP. He has been involved in the sheep industry since he was a 4-H member.

He has a strong interest in small ruminant veterinary medicine and a particular interest in ewe management and care, training farm team members in using ultrasound for pregnancy diagnosis in ewes and breeding.

The cost of the workshop is $10 and includes lunch and materials. For more information contact Don Brown at 330-763-0494 or don.pllc@gmail.com or Kathy Bielek at 330-264-5281 or kathy.bielek@gmail.com

Next month, the OHSIA, Ohio Sheep Improvement Assoc. and the National Sheep Improvement Program (NSIP) will join forces to present a workshop on “Using Estimated Breeding Values to Advance Genetic Progress in Your Sheep Flock.” It will be held on Dec. 5, prior to the Buckeye Shepherds Symposium, in the Gerlaugh Hall Conference Room on the Wooster campus of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC).

The event will begin at 2:30 p.m. and conclude at 5:30. The presenter will be Dr. Reid Redden, North Dakota State University sheep specialist and NSIP chair.

The workshop will consist of two sessions. Session One will discuss the use of performance data to produce seedstock relevant to the commercial sheep industry and increase profits in purebred and commercial sheep flocks. Redden will also be a presenter at the symposium on Dec. 6.